Colorado Buffaloes Snub by Butch Jones Mirrors My Love Life

By Derek Kessinger

Ron Chenoy USA TODAY SPORTS

Butch Jones flirted with the University of Colorado for most the week, only to rebuff the school’s advances in the end. Jones turned down Colorado Buffaloes Athletic Director Mike Bohn’s $13.5 million offer, at first saying he was staying at the University of Cincinnati. Jones has since left them for the University of Tennessee. Colorado fans feel played and heart-broken being the key piece in a negotiation for this football coach, but never the school of choice.

Somewhere in my past, I was introduced to a very nice girl. We had a lot in common, were in similar places in our lives and seemed like we could be a good pair. Our mutual friends talked her up, so that the prospect of dating her seemed like a great proposition. I was dealing with a messy split from my previous girlfriend and did not want to get my hopes up, but this girl led me to believe that it was okay.

We talked about going on a date. She told me we were going on a date. I then called her and she told me to hold on, we would make plans, but right now she was discussing things with a friend. I waited for her to call back and when she finally did it was a very different tone. Her response was that she and her boyfriend were back together, and she had never said we would actually go on a date. Except she did; I remember her saying it.

I was a pawn in an ongoing relationship negotiation, which I didn’t even know was a thing. The Colorado Buffaloes were a similar pawn in the pursuit of Butch Jones. They flew the coach out to Boulder and hid their meeting from the media with a food cart. Jones told the Buffs that he loved Colorado and would make a decision by Tuesday. He kept Colorado waiting. Meanwhile, the Buffs were building Jones’ limited coaching prestige up in their minds.

According to Denver Post reports, he told Colorado he would accept the job, only to change his mind when a better offer was on the table. Now the coach is off to find some Volunteers to turn Tennessee around. Colorado was jerked around, not even knowing that the floor was about to fall out from under them.

So where does Mike Bohn go from here? He set out a lot of lofty goals for his next long-term coaching relationship when he abruptly terminated the last one with Jon Embree. The desperation to find a new coach may lead him to another disastrous conclusion and with the coaching pool drying up shadows of a Dan Hawkins move from Boise State may be reflected in the new decision. A word of advice though Mike, there is no shame in admitting your mistakes. Gary Barnett may have broken your heart once, but he is your best option now.